Desirable in the art is a new zirconium coating on electrically conductive substrates, refractory metals, refractory metal alloys, uranium and uranium alloy substrates and more specifically uranium-10 molybdenum foils to prevent a reaction between the fuel and reactor cladding materials. Electrochemical processes have been used to form a zirconium coating on uranium-10 molybdenum substrates. These electrochemical processes have caused a reaction between the uranium substrate and ZrF4 species in the electrolyte. This reaction causes the formation of UFx at the substrate surface preventing the formation of a dense uniform zirconium coating. The present invention solves this problem.